The Packer Collegiate Institute, an independent K-12 school in Brooklyn Heights, is expanding its campus with a 25,000-square-foot, four-story project that combines renovation work with new construction in a tight urban site.
The plan reworks an existing four-story, 8,200-square-foot landmarked townhouse known as Garden House and ties it into a new 17,250-square-foot addition. The design team, led by WXY, aimed to create a seamless connection across campus, including a climate-controlled pathway that helps avoid disjointed circulation and disruptive student and staff routes.
While the building is drawing attention as the first K-12 project in New York City to use mass timber construction, it also includes a clear masonry story. The exterior uses a brick facade intended to match the diverse masonry palette already present across Packer’s historic campus buildings. In a neighborhood where historic context matters, the project team worked with the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to ensure exterior materials met district guidelines.
The brick itself is also part of the project’s sustainability approach. The article reports that the bricks were made from 100% recycled clay content, sourced from 30% post-consumer waste and 70% manufacturing waste. The facade is paired with bird frit glazing that brings daylight into the building while helping address bird safety.
Construction started in summer 2023 while the school remained in full use, which meant careful phasing and ongoing adjustments to exterior access and egress routes as areas were turned back over. Site work also reshaped the existing courtyard, adding permeable surfaces for water management, a rebuilt play area, and new landscaping.
Read the full, original article from School Construction News here.